Child relaxation accessory

ABSTRACT

An accessory for enticing a child to rest and relax during the course of a trip in a motor vehicle. The accessory is attached to, and stabilized on the back of, the back seat of the vehicle and provides a head rest in the form of a cuddly animal or the like against which the child can rest and relax its head during the trip.

The present invention relates, generally, to a device for a child riding in a car for some length of time and, more particularly, to assist that child and the driver in relaxing during the trip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Any person who has a child, or has ridden in a car with a child in the back seat for any length of time, knows all too well that patience can wear thin very quickly. Young children are not comfortable within the confines of the back seat of a car and quickly become restless. Restraints such as safety and booster seats merely exacerbate the matter. Restlessness is sensed by the driver and inevitably creates tension. Tension in the driver is an obvious safety issue. A key to the problem is finding some way to entice a restless child to find relaxation. That is what the present invention is all about.

2. Overview of Existing Art

A search of the prior patent art reveals a paucity of art which directly addresses the problems suggested herein. Patents such as Jones U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,747, Dunk U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,287, and Smith U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,851, only the latter of which suggests sleep, all reference placement and utility of devices such as pillows, albeit as an accessory to a child safety or booster seat.

Caramanis U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,271, on the other hand, provides a wrap which circumscribes the seat belt itself to support a pillow, while Hingle U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,554 simply straps to a shoulder belt. Finally, Marten U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,335 provides a modified version of a booster seat which requires the child to assume a particular upright posture which the inventor believes to be “restful”.

As the reading progresses it will become evident, however, that the art cited has only a peripheral bearing on the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The focus of the present invention is on safety, but not simply child safety, although that is a great factor. Rather, it is on the safety of all who are riding in a vehicle with a young child who, for whatever reason, may be fussy, or at least restless, to the distraction of the driver.

Any distraction to the driver, of course, creates a potential for an accident, and it is an objective of the present invention to mitigate, if not totally eliminate, at least one source for significant distraction to the driver of a vehicle.

Another objective related to the foregoing, is to provide a mechanism capable of enticing relaxation for a fussy or restless child riding in a vehicle and thereby, lessening tension for the driver.

Yet another objective is to provide an accessory which is portable, yet capable of fitting virtually any vehicle, and which is expressly designed to be cuddly and, thus, particularly attractive to young children, who will tend to embrace it when becoming tired, such as during an extended trip.

Further, an additional objective of the present invention is to provide an accessory which meets the criteria attributable to it, while being remarkably stable when affixed in an automobile, so as to permit a child using it to feel confident and secure and, thus, relaxed.

The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art as they read the Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of the accessory of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the accessory of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the accessory shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the accessory of FIG. 1, illustrating the prospect of having a variety of accessories; and,

FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of the accessory of the present invention in actual use by a child in the rear seat of a moving vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a children's accessory, constructed in accordance with the present invention, is illustrated at 10. The accessory 10 has been designed to make use of the back seat structure B, which is present in most vehicles, and to that end, is provided with a frame 12.

The frame 12 includes an elongated strap 14 which can be formed of any number of materials having sufficient tensile strength, ranging from a metal to a plastic material and even a fabric material, e.g., nylon. The harder the material, the more useful a softer cover of perhaps, a fabric. In order to position the accessory 10, the terminus 16 of the strap 14 is formed, or otherwise provided with, a hook 18.

Referring to FIG. 5, one can observe the manner in which the accessory, otherwise portable, is installed on the back seat of a vehicle. It will also be observed that the accessory 10 is stabilized against the seat by left and right wings, respectively 21, 23.

The wings 21, 23 are co planar and project outwardly and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the strap 14 and are adapted to lie flat against the back 25 of the seat upon which the accessory is situate. The wings provide a substantial surface area in contact with the seat resulting in the stabilization of the accessory during use.

In keeping with the objectives of the invention, a head rest 27 is provided and is positioned between the wings 21, 23, remote from the hook 18, where it is secured to the frame 12 in any suitable manner. The headrest 27 projects outwardly from the frame 12, and transverse to the plane of the wings into the space between the car's seats by an appropriate distance, and is of sufficient strength as to support the head of a child who may chose to rest on it.

The head rest 27 is constructed of a tubular support member 29 in the illustrated case, although it will be appreciated that shapes other than tubular are within the contemplation of the invention. As a means of softening the support member and enhancing the comfort of the child user, the head rest is covered with a soft cover 34 which insures that there will be no abrasiveness when a child's cheek comes into contact with it.

Finally, as a further effort to entice the child to use the accessory, a soft cover, preferably in the form of a cuddly animal face is slipped over the tubular support member as an attraction to those who are intended to benefit from the accessory 10. In truth, any cover may be used without departure from the invention.

It is appreciated that those skilled in the art will perceive some variations in some of the details of the accessory described and depicted herein. Variations are believed to be within the contemplation of the invention as set forth in the following claims: 

1. An accessory for enticing a child to rest and relax during the course of a trip in a motor vehicle, consisting of: a frame; said frame including a strap, said strap having a hook at the free end thereof, said hook adapted to fit over the back of a vehicle seat; a head rest remote from said hook, said head rest protruding outwardly from the car seat and being of a soft and cuddly material featuring the face of a familiar animal against which a child can rest its head and relax during the trip.
 2. The accessory set forth in claim 1, wherein wings are provided, said wings extending to either side of the longitudinal axis of said accessory such that said wings rest against the seat to which the accessory is attached to thereby provide lateral stability to said accessory.
 3. The accessory of claim 2, wherein said head rest of said accessory includes a tubular member, said tubular member extending outwardly and transverse to the plane of said wings.
 4. The accessory of claim 1, wherein said head rest includes a pillow member formed thereabout.
 5. The accessory of claim 1, wherein a soft cover extends over said tubular member.
 6. The accessory of claim 5, wherein said soft cover comprises an animal head cover, said animal head cover being generally familiar to children and, therefore, an attraction to them.
 7. The accessory of claim 5, wherein said soft head cover is removable and interchangeable with other such head covers to provide variety for the child's use.
 8. The accessory of claim 2, wherein said head rest includes a pillow member formed thereabout.
 9. The accessory of claim 2, wherein a soft cover extends over said tubular member. 